Houston Astros

After all has been said and done, Jose Cruz will return to the Houston Astros organization in a new role, with details to be worked out in the near future.

According to MLB.com Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart, Cruz met with president of baseball operations Tal Smith at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday, Oct. 20, before agreeing to remain a part of the Houston organization.

Lately, the Houston Astros have been hosting a game show. Haven't you heard?

It's called, "Who Wants to Be the Houston Astros Manager?"

Apparently, Bob Melvin and Manny Acta really do . And, of course, so does a motley cast comprised of the likes of Phil Garner, Dave Clark and several others.

I understand that it’s time for changes in the Houston Astros clubhouse.

But that doesn’t mean removing an icon and legend like Jose Cruz from the mix.

This latest move by the higher ups in Houston baffles me; do they really think it’s Cruz’s fault that players aren’t hustling down the first base line?

Why, exactly, are the Astros taking Cruz out of the coaching puzzle and offering him a position else where in the organization?

Am I missing something here?

You know: in the 1960s and 1970s there was The Carol Burnett Show and in an ongoing skit they'd do a spoof of the soap opera As The World Turns with As The Stomach Turns.

If the show were on now, they'd do a skit called As The Houston Astros' Fans' Stomachs Turn.

Phil Garner, the former Astro who managed Houston to its first and only World Series appearance, was fired and replaced by Cecil Cooper, who was fired this season. Cooper, a good hitter when in his Major League career, showed that as a manager he's, well, a good hitter.

The Houston Astros baseball club announced their list of 10 managerial candidates on Monday, Oct. 12, with names ranging from Manny Acta to Ned Yost.

Now, over the next week, General Manger Ed Wade and team owner Drayton McLane will be interviewing their choices before narrowing it down to their ultimate decision.

Wade and McLane will begin their sit-downs immediately, beginning Wednesday with interim manager Dave Clark and Astros Minor League field coordinator Al Pedrique.

Mercifully, the Houston Astros 2009 season is over.

74 wins, 88 losses; a very disappointing year in the National League Central.

For Houston, many moves are in order, but naming a new manager must be a priority.

Astros General Manager Ed Wade told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (the beat writer for the Houston baseball team) on Monday that he hopes to begin making contact with potential skipper candidates by the week’s end.

The Houston Astros, after 157 games this season, are 73-84, in fifth place in the NL Central, and 17 games back of the first place St. Louis Cardinals

The Astros' chances at the postseason are deader than...well, it would be in poor taste to give names, but deader than a certain environmentalist actor who died in his early 20s from a drug overdose.

The Houston Astros enter the All-Star break 44-44 and are fourth in the NL Central, three and a half games back from the division leading Cardinals. The Astros are in the best place in the division at the All Star Break since 2003, when they were leading the

division.

Here is a recap of the Astros' season before the All-Star Break.

It's a shame they closed down Six Flags at Astroworld a few years ago. You know the amusement park right across the Astrodome from Southeast Loop 610.

All the rollercoaster rides at Astroworld (such as Grease Lightning, Texas Cyclone, and abrupt drop-offs like the Skyscreamer) might be good practice for being a Houston Astros fan.